Morris Claiborne Injury: Updates on Cowboys CB's Shoulder and Return

Claiborne has a sprained AC joint that’s still causing him pain but not expected to keep him sidelined any longer. Claiborne said he’ll be ready to go for the Cowboys’ regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the San Francisco 49ers.

''The biggest thing is going to be the pain,” Claiborne said. “Can you tolerate the pain? The pain is there and it’s going nowhere. That’s going to be the big thing.”

Claiborne said he would take a pre-game shot to help with his pain in his shoulder before the 49ers game and would take one before each game throughout the season, or for as long as the pain is a problem for him.

Claiborne said he would “pretty much” deal with pain in his right shoulder throughout the season.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne and his head coach share a similar hope that he can play in Saturday’s preseason game in Miami.

But Claiborne, who hasn’t done competitive work since spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder last week, isn’t on the same page as Jason Garrett in terms of whether practice is a prerequisite to playing in the game.

Claiborne and head coach Jason Garrett talked about the corner's status, according to McMahon:

“My mind is on the game, on playing,” Claiborne said. “As we get closer, we’ll see, but that’s where my mind is right now, on playing on Saturday.”

Garrett said Claiborne’s availability against the Dolphins would be determined by how he does in Thursday’s practice with Friday a scheduled off day.

“We do want to make sure he has a good work day before we put him out on the game field,” Garrett said.

Original Text

The Dallas Cowboys secondary, which finished 30th in the league in opposing passing yards allowed per game in 2013, received some unfortunate news Thursday regarding one of the team's top defensive backs.

It is still early in the preseason, so caution is clearly the way to go here. The Cowboys need Claiborne at full strength once the season kicks off if they hope to improve their vulnerable pass defense.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Claiborne was Dallas’ first-round pick in 2012 and will face some extra pressure in his third season. He has two picks in his career and played only 10 games in 2013, so fans will look for some improvement in 2014. After all, he has two years of experience under his belt now.

The only way he can spearhead any defensive improvement is by being healthy and on the field, which is why the Cowboys are using caution here. It is far more important that Claiborne is out there when September rolls around than in mid-August.